A Bit of Sewing.

Not long ago I mentioned being in the mood to sew.   I have a fancy dancy sewing machine, plenty of patterns from when my girls were little (I sewed all their dresses) and a stash of fabric that needs using up.

So one rainy day I spent some time in my sewing room.    I wanted to make something fast and easy so I chose 2 patterns I knew would fit the bill. 

First was a pattern I had altered from a button down the front to an easy jumper that buttons at the shoulders and I added the ruffle at the bottom. 



I used my easy ruffling trick of zig zagging over some crochet thread then pulling it up to ruffle the fabric, for me this is easier than the two rows of basting stitches. 



The dress was done in a couple hours so I started on another.

I have a ton of white denim, I got it years ago for some project or other, I think I made some tote bags but found I just did not enjoy that much.   I thought it would be cute made up into this jumper pattern.



To add interest I just appliqued the large funky flowers on.  The pattern came with the appliques.  The pattern is by New Look and it is number 6578.  A super fast and easy pattern, the most time consuming part is the embellishments, the rest whips up in no time. 

While going thru my fabrics and sewing supplies (I was trying to organize my sewing space) I stumbled upon my silk ribbon embroidery stash.  I started doing silk ribbon embroidery in the early 90’s, it was very easy to learn and the results are worth the small amount of effort you put into it.

I had some linen in my fabric stash and thought the little jumper dress would be lovely made from it with the silk ribbon embroidery along the neck line for the frou frou. 

I mapped out my design with my water soluble pen…



Then I embroidered away.  It took me a couple hours to do this design…



Here is the back..



To make sure the ends do not come loose when washing I seal it with fusible interfacing.



The interfacing will be hidden by the front facing. 

And voila…a lovely little jumper dress that was quick and easy but with a special touch!

The silk ribbon embroidery holds up better than you would think in the wash. 



Here are all three together..



Now I am in the mood to sew something for myself.. I loved working with this linen, actually it is a linen blend, 55% linen and 45% rayon, it is easy to work with and is less wrinkly when worn than 100% linen. 

JoAnn’s has it on sale right now in stores at 30% off so I picked up some more.    Now to work on a dress for me.